South Shore University Hospital nurses ratify contract with Northwell Health

Nurses at Northwell Health's South Shore University Hospital voted overwhelmingly Friday to ratify a new contract — only three days before they were scheduled to strike.

The pact was approved by 95% of the nurses who voted, according to their union.

The contract with the New York State Nurses Association, which was tentatively agreed on early Thursday, provides nurses with expedited arbitration of staffing disputes to enforce new standards. The nurses also received an average 18.65% salary increase over the life of the three-year contract, improved retiree health benefits and the addition of Juneteenth, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, as a paid holiday. 

“Nurses fought for the care our patients deserve, and today we won,” said Chrysse Blau, NYSNA's local president at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore. “The new safe staffing standards and salary increases mean more nurses will choose to come and stay at South Shore. It means more nurses at the bedside when our patients need us most, and most importantly, it means we get to practice safely and with the dignity and respect we deserve.”

The union has nearly 800 members working at South Shore. Their contract expired almost a year ago.

Nurses at South Shore voted early this month to authorize a strike, with 99% voting in favor of a potential walkout. They delivered a strike notice on Feb. 14, alerting the hospital a walkout would begin Monday if an agreement was not reached. The South Shore members withdrew the strike notice after the agreement was reached Thursday.

“We are so relieved. None of us wanted to strike, we simply wanted our voices to be heard," said Arielle Shea, a labor and delivery nurse at South Shore. "This contract is a testament to what nurses can achieve when we fight together."

In a statement earlier this week, New Hyde Park-based Northwell said its "sole focus" was on ensuring patient care and providing nurses with "the best working environment to provide that care. The agreement provides our nurses with competitive salary increases and benefit enhancements and reaffirms our commitment that our patients continue to receive safe, high-quality care.”

Last month, approximately 7,000 nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and Montefiore Medical Center's Bronx campus went on strike before NYSNA reached agreements with those hospitals to increase staffing and raise salaries by 19% over three years.

At Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside, a majority of about 800 nurses voted last month to join the nurses union.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.